Democracy And Participation- The Development Of Rights In The UK Flashcards
What should you remember about the ECHR?
Many students mistakenly believe that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is controlled by the European Union.
This would imply that now the UK has left the EU, all these rights are lost.
This is not so.
The ECHR is administered by a different body, the Council of Europe, and its European Court of Human Rights.
It has nothing to do with the EU and therefore the rights in the ECHR continue to apply to UK citizens, regardless of Brexit.
Some of the rights in the UK
Magna Carta
Common Law
Statues
The Human Rights Act
Equalities Act 2010
Magna Carta
This document, issued in 1215, was the first document that set out the limits of the king’s power. It sought to prevent the government from exploiting its power.
While it initially sought to protect barons against an all-powerful king, the Magna Carta has now come to symbolise the right of the people to be free from a government acting beyond the power given to it in law.
Common law
This has developed over many centuries. These are rights which have been recognised as existing and commonly enforced. They are confirmed by judicial precedent - judgments made in the courts and enforced by lower courts.
Common law examples
Examples: the rule of law guaranteeing equal treatment under the law, habeas corpus (freedom from imprisonment without trial), rules relating to a fair trial.
Statutes
Parliamentary law may guarantee rights.
Statutes example
Example: the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (granting the right to access official information).
The Human Rights Act
This law brought the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. A wide range of rights and freedoms are guaranteed.
Equalities Act 2010
This law legally protects people against discrimination in the workplace and in wider society, specifically on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.
